‘Never again’ means ensuring accountability for the genocide in Rwanda

See below an opinion piece we published in Pambazuka, marking the 19th anniversary this week of the beginning of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 

Tara O'Leary and David Russell

2013-04-10, Issue 625

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/86937

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Rwanda has made significant steps in the pursuit of justice for victims of the genocide 19 years ago. But many suspected perpetrators living abroad have not been brought to justice and the government does not seem keen to fulfil its pledges to compensate survivors.

The recent high profile visit of British Foreign Secretary William Hague and actress Angelina Jolie to Gisozi genocide memorial briefly drew the attention of the international media back to Rwanda and to the 19th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide on 7 April. The photographs of the visitors in the memorial's beautiful garden in Kigali provided a striking image as both figures paid tribute not only to those who were lost in 1994 but also to the victims and survivors. 

The abiding slogan ‘never again’ is often repeated at events such as these, but part of the commitment to ensuring that such events are never repeated is guaranteeing accountability for the atrocities of the past. To what extent do these words merely comprise useful phrases for formal occasions?

Efforts to address impunity for atrocities committed during the genocide have been multifaceted. In addition to the work of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Rwanda has made efforts towards justice in recent years, particularly in addressing fair trial concerns and legislating for the transfer of suspects back from the ICTR and extradition of suspects residing abroad. It is currently holding a number of genocide trials, including that of Jean Bosco Uwinkindi, and has pursued a policy of issuing extradition requests, which have recently begun to bear fruit with the transfer of Charles Bandora from Norway last month.

Genocide suspects living abroad too are increasingly unable to rely on their adopted countries acting as a safe haven. Quietly, prosecutors across Europe and North America have spent recent years notching up cases against suspected Rwandan perpetrators. These prosecutions are often based on the principles of universal jurisdiction, which provide for the prosecution of the most serious crimes such as genocide and war crimes irrespective of where these crimes were committed and irrespective of the nationality of the perpetrator or the victim. To date, suspects have been successfully prosecuted in Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. Others have been arrested in the UK, France, Denmark, Germany and Sweden, while in the United States suspected perpetrators have been prosecuted for visa and immigration fraud in relation to their role in the genocide. 

However, impunity for genocide suspects residing abroad is still the norm, a fact only too clearly demonstrated by the low number of prosecutions. In 2009, for example, four suspects were released in the UK as their extradition was denied based on human rights concerns. Four years later all four men remain free despite the amendment of criminal legal rules in 2010 which would allow them to be tried in the UK. Similarly, complaints have been filed against at least 24 suspects living in France, some as long as 18 years ago, yet France has yet to bring a single accused to trial. Suspects reportedly living in other European countries, including Italy and Switzerland, have yet to be investigated by domestic authorities. 

These countries have the means and the necessary legal framework to prosecute known suspects who are living freely in their communities. What is needed however is the political will to make use of the existing system of international criminal justice and see these prosecutions through to the end. 

Victims also remain frustrated in their attempts to participate in justice processes, despite their right in international law to see perpetrators brought to justice, to participate in criminal justice proceedings and to access reparation to remedy the losses they have suffered.

Very few countries have allowed victims to join universal jurisdiction cases as interested parties, and only a handful of victims - in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands - have been able to read statements about their experiences to the court or participate other than as witnesses. 

Attempts by survivors to obtain reparation have been similarly frustrated. Since the end of the genocide in 1994, the vast majority of survivors and indeed victims of international crimes generally in Rwanda, have yet to receive adequate reparation. This has been the case in Rwanda, where repeated promises from the government to establish reparation programmes have never been implemented, and at the ICTR, the statute of which did not include a mandate to make reparation awards. Universal jurisdiction cases have also generally failed to provide access to reparation for persons participating as victims. 

The theme for the commemoration of the Rwandan genocide this year is kwigira, which means self-reliance. Survivors and their communities demonstrate daily tremendous self-reliance, initiative and dignity in their efforts to rebuild their lives. As we reflect on efforts made to end impunity in Rwanda and elsewhere since 1994, all actors concerned should consider how justice efforts can best underpin the dignity and independence of survivors. Implementing longstanding promises to deliver reparation would go a long way to demonstrate the government's commitment to ensuring kwigira for survivors of genocide and other victims of international crimes committed in Rwanda in 1994. 

* Tara O'Leary is Universal Jurisdiction Coordinator of REDRESS and David Russell is the Director of Survivors Fund

Day 58 - Abdulhadi al-Khawaja

I haven't written here at all recently, the main reason being simply that many other things have arisen and sometimes taken priority in the past few months. I have felt bad about this for many reasons, but mostly because I should have been sharing information and highlighting things happening in one of the only ways I can.  

To get to the point: Abdulhadi al-Khawaja began a hunger strike on 8 February, vowing not to end until he was released from detention. Today is his 58th day without food, and things are looking particularly bleak. He has lost approximately 25% of his body weight, and I've seen a picture which quite upset me. He has been moved to hospital and it is feared that he might die over the weekend. 

At the start of last week, courts in Bahrain deferred a scheduled review of his detention until 23 April. My personal interpretation of these events is that the Bahraini authorities may deliberately want to delay a hearing until it is too late. 

His daughter Zainab, who I have written about previously, was arrested this morning while protesting outside the clinic where he is being treated. She is reportedly still in detention. 

I've written about Abdulhadi's case before, here, here and here. We used to work together at Front Line. He is a kind and gentle soul. More importantly for his country, where unrest continues despite a year of violent oppression, Abdulhadi is described as "the godfather" of human rights in Bahrain. His life and detention, his health and hunger, have become symbols of oppression, defiance and hope. 

Please click here to sign a petition for his release and here for other simple steps you can take to help. 

An editorial piece written by Front Line's Deputy Director, Andrew Anderson, is here.

Today's press release is below. 

PRESS RELEASE: Human Rights Defender and former colleague, Abdulhadi AlKhawaja close to death on 58th day of hunger strike in Bahrain

Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, former colleague and dear friend of Front Line Defenders, is on the 58th day of his hunger strike in Bahrain.

Abdulhadi started his hunger strike on the night of 8th/9th February. He was also part of a group hunger strike for 7 days from January 29th, so he has been on hunger strike for 65 of the last 68 days. His condition has deteriorated and he has been transferred to the BDF hospital.

According to medical experts, he now has an 80% chance of dying and is at risk of organ failure at any time. "We call on the Bahrain government to exercise mercy and immediately allow Abdulhadi to travel to Denmark for medical treatment as requested by the Danish Foreign Minister - Abdulhadi has dual citizenship with Denmark" said Mary Lawlor, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders, "We further call on the UN, the EU, the US and UK to issue public statements to this effect".

Abdulhadi is an internationally renowned human rights defender. He was arrested one year ago, brutally tortured and sentenced to life imprisonment after a grossly unfair trial before a military court on fabricated charges. Abdulhadi has worked non-violently for the human rights of others for many years and went on hunger strike for " Freedom or Death". His daughter Zainab attempted to see him yesterday, on his 51st birthday, and was arrested. She is currently being detained at Alhoora police Station.

If Abdulhadi AlKhawaja dies in the run up to the Grand Prix due to take place in Bahrain on 22nd April, it will increase the instability and unrest. "The Bahraini authorities clearly want to present an image of business as usual but their seeming indifference to the plight of Abdulhadi, risks tragic consequences for Bahrain" said Mary Lawlor "Those involved in Formula 1 must consult with independent journalists, community leaders, human rights groups, to get a good sense of what is going on - to see for themselves the situation in the gulf kingdom. From observing protests last week in Bahrain, it is clear that Bahrain is not safe for Bahrainis".

In a letter to his family a few days ago in the shape of a heart on the inside of a box of tea bags Abdulhadi wrote:

"My dear & beloved family, from behind prison bars, I send to you my love & yearning. From a free man, to a free family. These prison walls don't separate me from you, they bring us closer together. Our connection & determination is stronger than ever. We take our strength, from beautiful memories. Remembering every trip, every meal we ate together, all the conversations, remembering every smile, all the jokes & the laughter. The distance between us disappears, through our love & faith.

It's true: I am in here, & you are out there. But, you are in here with me, and I am out there with you. Our pain is made more bearable when we remember we chose this difficult path & took an oath to remain on it. We must not only remain patient through our suffering, we must never allow the pain to conquer our souls. Let our hearts be filled with joy, and an acceptance of the responsibility we have been given for in the end, this life is about finding a path of truth towards God".

Abdulhadi Al Khawaja receives a life sentence

This morning Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and seven other political prisoners in Bahrain were sentenced to life in prison by a military court. Several others recieved sentences of up to 15 years in prison. The BBC report that "the authorities claim that they plotted to overthrow Bahrain's Sunni rulers "by force and intelligence with a terror group colluding with a foreign country" - in an apparent reference to Iran."

The Guardian reports today that "The defendants punched their air with their fists and shouted 'peacefully' as their sentences were handed down, according to relatives." Later, "Khawaja then shouted: 'We will continue our struggle' ... His daughter, Zainab, was forcibly removed from court by female guards after she cried out 'Allahu akbar' or 'God is great'."

Bahrain may have been pushed back out of the headlines as a result of media overkill, Syria, Libya and any other number of this year's big news stories. But this verdict and its speed is a stain on Bahrain's conscience and shows that they continue to willingly punish their own people. The verdict, the proceedings and the prosecution itself are a disgrace. I can't help but think of the situation of these individuals as they sit in their cells tonight thinking about the months and years ahead, and their families at home facing the same truth. And besides the bleak immediate future of these individuals, how bleakly does this bode for the future of Bahrain, under a system that deems it appropriate and necessary to rule like this?

Below is the text of Front Line's statement.

Front Line, the Dublin based International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders deplores and condems the life sentence passed against the organisation's former Protection Coordinator for the Middle East and prominent member of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Abdulhadi Al Khawaja.

Today's verdict and the fact that the trial took place before a military court whose procedures fall far short of internationally recognised fair trial standards underlines the determination of the Government of Bahrain to secure a conviction at any cost” said Mary Lawlor, Executive Director of Front Line in Dublin today.

Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and the 20 other defendants were tried before the State of Safety Court which has consistently refused to address repeated and credible allegations of torture in pre-trial detention and during the trial itself. “This trial was a total legal charade and followed the brutal arrest and torture of Abdulhadi Al Khawaja for exercising his legitimate rights to freedom of expression and association by campaigning for democracy and human rights in Bahrain” said Ms Lawlor.

Front Line is concerned by the increasingly hard line being taken by the Bahrain Government. The targeting of members of the medical profession, including three doctors who are graduates of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the harassment of anyone who speaks about human rights abuses to the media is of particular concern.

“For the forthcoming national dialogue to have any serious hope of success the Government of Bahrain must attempt to restore trust as a vital pre-condition. The first step to creating trust is the immediate and unconditional release of Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and all other human rights defenders currently in detention including blogger and founder of Bahrainonline.org Ali Abdulemam who is being tried in absentia”, she added.

The Arrest of Mladic

I suppose it was quite inevitable that I would have to make some comment on this. I never planned on making this blog a political forum, I thought of it only as an extended travel diary - a sort of consolidated place which might form a more innovative improvement on sending tedious group emails. Maybe the frantic pace of news this year has kept me alert and opiniated, maybe it is simply that I've realised that this is a good place to raise awareness of some terrible things that have happened recently to people I knew. But it's also true that something as topical as the arrest of Ratko Mladic provides an interesting insight into one of the places I have been writing about, and for those of you who might have been interested on my musings on the subject, I feel that the large amount of press that this arrest has generated about Bosnia - a rare occurrence these days, now that both the international media and the internationally community itself is moving onto sexier, racier events and places - that some of this coverage might atone for the background information and the overall picture which I never really felt myself capable of providing.

So I felt it worthwhile to post an article which I found both powerful and moving today. It's written by one of the journalists who originally uncovered the existence of concentration camps in Northeastern Bosnia in 1992, exposing the details of ethnic cleansing internationally for the first time. "Ratko Mladic's arrest is a hollow victory in a country that refuses to apologise", it is entitled. It's not particularly long and I highly recommend reading it for anyone interested in the current state of affairs in Bosnia, because it is for me at least a response to my inner dismay that for all the extensive coverage of the arrest - the headlines, the reporters running back to the Balkans, the statements of praise from international dignitaries - none of it was really about Bosnia at all.

All the stories and the face-to-camera commentaries talked instead about Serbia: about it's EU candidacy, about its previous reluctance (now amended and forgiven) to arrest a man whose whereabouts was well known, about the implications for geo-political realignment and economic development in the region. None of the stories were about Bosnia, no one went and reported from Sarajevo. Glib statements that the survivors and the families of the victims of Srebrenica welcomed this news that "justice would finally be done" were left unsubstantiated. I really wished that I'd been back in Sarajevo last Thursday, to see and feel the reaction there. But my suspicions that there would be little celebrating were later confirmed by friends who mentioned the air of sadness, disappointment and anti-climax. It must have been a day for remembering - both in terms of the good memories of the individuals and the unbearable memories of what happened to them - and for the bitterness of futility.

Serbia and its politicians have been heaped with praise for doing something that they had the ability to do years ago. The timing alone strikes me as politically suspicious (Catherine Ashton's visit, Serbian state TV apologising for the propaganda it broadcast in the 1990s). The arrest has not been accompanied by the repeat of previous apologies or acknowledgements, only by Mladic and his supporters' insistence that he stands wrongly accused. Like Milosevic, he is in poor health and might potentially die before a trial is concluded. He won't be tried in Bosnia by Bosnian courts, prosecutors or judges. Even if found guilty, the trial is unlikely to provide information about the whereabouts of victims (or their remains) which are still missing, still buried in undiscovered mass graves. The arrest will make no difference to the fraught political situation within Bosnia, where those referred to as "the victims" of Sarajevo and Srebrenica generally feel that the Serbian ethnic cleansing campaign was a success, resulting as it did in the Serbian-controlled Republika Srpska - one of Bosnia's federal entities, taking up about half of the country's territory - which shows no sign of wanting to share a state with those eternally-referenced "victims".

As Ed Vulliamy puts it in the article mentioned above, "the Republika Srpska makes no secret of its desire to accede to Serbia proper, or to make Bosnia such a dysfunctional state that it becomes pointless".

I specialised during my Masters in international law, particularly international criminal justice. Obviously I am pleased that this man has finally been arrested - and that unlike some others on the 'most wanted' list, that this problem wasn't solved with several bullets to the head, administered by the agents of a foreign country. I look forward to pondering the legal issues in his forthcoming extradition and the upcoming legal battle and inevitable delaying tactics. And I don't argue that this Vulliamy's article is an impartial or objective account of Bosnia today or of Mladic himself - far from it, really. But at least it bothers to stop take a look around Bosnia and see what the arrest means for this beautiful, troubled, tragic little country, and that's something that has been sorely lacking since last Thursday.

The US, UK and Bahrain

I don't usually blog spontaneously and reactively - I try to make time for this, to compose my thoughts and to write rationally and reasonably. But news reports today have dismayed me, and three articles which I read in quick succession have made me want to react, immediately.

Firstly, leading headlines this morning were dedicated to Obama's speech on the Middle East last night, generally complimenting (at least if you read the "liberal" press like I do, being a weak-willed, jelly-kneed, bleeding-heart liberal and all) a shift in policy away from support to autocratic regimes in favour of the pro-democracy movements of the Arab spring. The extent to which a realignment of rhetoric will really change effective US policy in the Middle East (US military bases, supply of military equipment, political partnership) remains debatable, but some of the phrases in his speech, to me, were remarkable and typically eloquent.

"So we face an historic opportunity. We have embraced the chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator ... After decades of accepting the world as it is in the region, we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be" ... "The status quo is not sustainable," Obama said.

Following on the imposition of sanctions against Syria by the US this week, the Guardian wrote that "the tone of the speech at the state department in Washington, the first major one on the Middle East since Cairo in 2009, was intended to suggest that the US is turning its back on its long-term policy of supporting dictatorships in the Middle East to guarantee oil supplies and instead will embrace democracy and commitment to human rights.

Yet on the same day, newspapers in the UK carried pictures of David Cameron welcoming the Crown Prince of Bahrain to 10 Downing Street, shaking hands in front of that iconic doorway. The Independent led with the headline, "Cameron embraces tyranny".

A Downing Street spokesman said last night: "The Prime Minister raised concerns about the situation in Bahrain and stressed the importance of the government moving to a policy of reform rather than repression." Mr Cameron said grievances on all sides should be addressed "through constructive dialogue". The spokesman added: "The Prime Minister emphasised his support for the Crown Prince's long-standing work to achieve political and economic progress in Bahrain."

I don't normally get outraged by politics on this level. I don't usually throw around words like duplicity or hypocrisy or outrage, and because I am at least resigned to the real politik of the real world, I usually subsist into disappointment and hopelessness about matters like this. But today, not long after I read those headlines I read this brilliant piece of writing by my former colleague at Front Line, Deputy Director Andrew Anderson. And I knew that I had to repost it immediately. We all need more writing like this - concise, measured, the opposite of hysterical but with a clear sense of purpose and immense feeling.

Obama, Cameron and Bahrain

Let us welcome President Obama's condemnation of repression in Bahrain even if it is long overdue and was qualified by weasel words about legitimate Government concerns and Iranian interference. He rightly said "mass arrests and brute force are at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain's citizens." Talking more generally he also said "the truth cannot be hidden," and "repression will fail, and tyrants will fall."

David Cameron's unwise decision to welcome Bahrain's Crown Prince to Downing Street may also turn out to have a positive side. There was widespread criticism across the UK media from the Telegraph and Mail to the Guardian. The highlight was the Independent's front page banner headline "Cameron embraces tyranny" over a picture of him shaking hands with the Prince on the steps of 10 Downing Street.

One must hope that the media coverage delivered a blunt message to Bahrain's rulers in a way that British and US Government diplomacy has so far failed to do. The Crown Prince had previously been positioned as an advocate of dialogue and reform and might still play a positive role. But not before there is an end to mass arrests, torture, show trials, mass sackings and brutal attempts to silence human rights defenders, independent journalists and all those who support peaceful change. There can be no dialogue whilst those the regime must speak with are in jail. Talk of "reform" is meaningless without respect for basic human rights.

My friend and former colleague at Front Line Abdulhadi Alkhawaja has been brutally tortured in the last weeks and there was an attempt to sexually assault him because of his refusal to apologise to the King on camera. My friend and prominent blogger and freedom of expression campaigner Ali Abdulemam is currently being tried in absentia alongside Abdulhadi. He was detained and tortured during a previous show trial last year. He was released in February but has not been seen since March.

These two gentle men, colleagues I have worked with, friends I have played football with, are demonised in the Bahraini Government controlled media as religious extremists engaged in a terrorist conspiracy on behalf of Iran. It is as absurd as the detentions of doctors, poets and Bahraini football players. And the mass loyalty pledges which are apparently to be engraved on gold swords.

Obama spoke of "shouts of dignity" and we have heard these in Bahrain, followed by shouts from the torture chambers. It is time to put an end to the madness and the US and UK must exert their influence more forcefully to avert the sectarian disaster which the current Bahraini and Saudi rulers seem to be determined to provoke. Free Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and the other detainees, end the show trials, and allow Ali Abdulemam and the other disappeared to return to their families in safety.

You can support imprisoned human rights defender Abdulhadi Alkhawaja here.

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja: Update

A quick update on the situation in Bahrain. Zainab Al-Khawaja has called off her hunger strike after ten days. Her health was deteriorating and she has stated that, with the support and encouragement of family, friends and other activists, she decided that she would of more use in speaking on behalf of those in detention if she was healthy. "Being silent in a tomb and not able to speak is not in the interests of my family," she stated.

This decision was also related to the first information the family has recieved about the three men in detention: Abdulhadi reportedly faced a military tribunal during a court hearing this morning, and has been charged with crimes against the state. Abdulhadi was allowed to call the family yesterday and Zainab Al-Khawaja's husband was also allowed to make a phone call. They were allowed to take clothes, toothbrushes and medicenes to deliver to the detainees.

Front Line's Deputy Director, Andrew Anderson, is in Bahrain at the moment but was not allowed to attend the military hearing in Manama this morning, and officials told him they could not confirm that the hearing was taking place.

Read the Guardian's report here and the BBC's report here.

Andrew filmed an appeal from Zainab Al-Khawaja in Manama a few days ago, which you can watch here.

The Power of Blogging: Free Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja

Today, over a year after I first started started writing here, I made the mind-blowing discovery that I can track information and statistics about who views this blog. (Me? Technologically slow on the uptake? Behind the times? What??). Alas, Google doesn't so freely share the frightening mountains of information it hoards about all of us to tell me the names or IP addresses of you folks (damn protection of anonymity eh?) but it does provide the number of views per country, and the websites which have been used to find me.

All of you dear readers, I had no idea that you were out there. I am overwhelmed! It turns out that far more people are reading this than I ever imagined. I always presumed that the only people who found this page were friends or acquaintances who I had mentioned it to or who had picked it up on Facebook or the likes. But it's not so; the numbers don't add up. There really are people out there in the great beyond who find me, and who might even be a smidgen interested and read a little bit.

Who would have known, for instance, that somebody or some bodies in South Korea have looked at my page 44 times? Or that there are a hell of a lot of people in Russia interested in this? A Russian search engine is, in fact, the primary sites which refers people here after Google. I don't know anyone in Denmark, or France, or Germany who might be the people reading this there. More people in the US read this than in Ireland, so dear family and friends back home - you're outnumbered. I am shocked!

So to all of you, whoever you are, thank you for making my day, and thank you for reading. I hope you stay and look around a little while as we bump into each other in cyberspace and pass like ships in the night-time blogosphere. I hope you even find it a little interesting. But most of all, I hope you start commenting because I'd love to hear more from whoever is reading this!

Particularly because the most interesting finding of all provided by these new-fangled statistics was that the post with the second-highest numbers of viewings is that in which I wrote about the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the (then) ongoing detention of Ali Abdulemam (the most-viewed page consisted of very pretty safari photos from Africa). In other words, people have been reading the posts in which I tried to raise awareness and attention about serious problems or issues I cared about. Of course I know how search engines work and how strategically-titled key words can pop up when requested. But I just never had concrete evidence before that it ever actually worked. And it's encouraging.

Which makes it interesting that I came across these statistics today, because all week I have been somewhat torn as to whether I should post about the beating and arrest of my former colleague at Front Line, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. A well-established human rights activist in Bahrain, Abdulhadi resigned recently from Front Line to focus his work on the ongoing protest movement in the country. Last week the police raided his daughter's house where he was staying, beat him unconscious, assaulted several other family members, and arrested him along with two of his sons-in-law. Since then his place of detention is unknown, he has had no contact with a lawyer and has reportedly been deprived access to medication for an ongoing health condition.

My first instinct was to write about this here. I worked with Abdulhadi on a daily basis during my time with Front Line and although he was usually based in Manama he visited Dublin several times during the year I worked there. I saw him most recently last autumn. He is an utter gentleman and, as I heard one friend describe him during the week, "a kind and gentle soul". And now he is at high risk of torture, in a country where increasing numbers of peaceful protesters have been been dying in detention.

So of course my first instinct was to write about it because this needs ATTENTION. Immediately. But, I thought, I feel like I lecture everyone about this stuff all the time. I bang on and on about human rights and arrests and injustice and people who are handed a rough lot in life. The friends and family who (I thought) read this blog are no doubt bored to death of my lecturing them on "the issues". Oh how very middle-class and well-educated and liberal of me. Yes, of course we all should do something about it, but don't people get tired of hearing about these things that are terrible but that they can't really do anything about?

Well, two things have struck home with me today. The first is that the response of Abdulhadi's daughter, Zainab Al-Khawaja, to the arrest of her father and husband puts me to shame. After seeing her father beaten unconscious in front of her in her home and having her husband dragged off to an unknown prison, she publicized the arrests on her blog and Twitter, began giving interviews to the international press, wrote a powerful open letter to Barack Obama and declared a hunger strike. Despite the fact that she is a woman living in a repressive Arab state, Zainab Al-Khawaja is the embodiment of how strong, empowered and amazing women can be, regardless of whether they wear a hijab or burka or not. Zainab Al-Khawaja is doing something about it and I find her inspirational.

So no matter how idealistic and naive and plain old cheesy this sounds, the second thing that struck me today, looking at my statistics, is that surprisingly I can do something too, something which might actually have some effect. I have no idea who you are or where you read this or how you come across this, but there's a small chance that you - you back there! - might read this page. And I hope that you, who might be interested in the events taking place around the world in this tumultuous year, might come across this post. A decent, kind-hearted and committed individual has been brutally beaten, arrested and is at high risk of torture because he advocates democracy and an end to the abuses he is now subject to.

So send a letter, sign a petition or show your support for Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and all other political prisoners and peaceful protesters imprisoned in Bahrain.

Details on sending a letter to the Bahraini authorities can be found here.